“Is an individual's personality determined by their biological nature or by their personal experiences (nurture)?” When personality is analysed within the psychological field, the emphasis is placed on the ‘individual’s characteristics, modes of thinking and feelings’(Ribeaux&Poppleton,1978). With these three aspects that make up one’s personality differing in all individuals, it proves difficult to provide an all-encompassing definition of personality. Behavioural geneticists attempt to study this topic using three methods; family, twin and adoption studies. Research derived from twin studies made a consensus that five main determinants are necessary when describing personality including extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness and agreeableness(Thomas J.Bouchard.,Jr,1994). This essay endeavours to analyse the two predominant arguments that focus on determining an individuals’ personality and therefore altering how they behave within society. It will highlight the complex dispute of which social scientists have thoroughly investigated to ascertain whether the development of personality is due to genetic inheritance(nature) or due to an individuals’ environment(nurture). According to the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology, the role of nurture on personality is “the sum total of all environmental factors that contribute to the physical and psychological characteristics of an individual, including upbringing or rearing”(Andrew M.Colman,2009). This suggests that scientists believe our personality, behaviour and modes of thinking are reflected by how we are taught in our formative years. This adopts the social learning theory which states that a child’s development is influenced by their tendency to imitate their role model’s behaviour. Therefore, when a child views a personality trait displayed by their parents(role models), they are more likely to imitate the trait, adopting it and consequently forming part of their personality. However, for this to take place it is necessary that the child possesses certain characteristics such as motivation and attention to stimulate the process of imitation(Bandura 1971). Another theory devised by B.F.Skinner concentrates on the variables within the environment that influence the individual. He described personality as being ‘overt behaviour’, comprehended by responses in environmental factors. At birth, children are born with a variety of innate capacities, but consequent personalities are understood as being learnt. Thorndike and the Law of Effect(1905) states that when behaviours are accompanied with satisfaction, they tend to be repeated; Skinner derived this preliminary definition as ‘reinforcement.’ He emphasised that positive reinforcement is essential for the child to initiate and maintain desired behaviours. He believed that an individual’s personality is shaped during their development and changed whilst encountering different stimuli. For example, the mentality of a teenager that lives in the city suburbs is completely different to living in the city. A teenager engaging in a dangerous activity in the suburbs is socially acceptable, however once the individual moves to the city it is frowned upon and as a result he is likely to stop and adopt a different personality trait. Rebuttal to Skinner’s research, he conducted the majority of his studies on animals in artificial laboratory surroundings. This weakens the ‘nurture’ argument by questioning Skinner’s results as they lack applicability and generalisability with regards to the richness of everyday life and humans. The other side to the debate is the role of ‘nature,’ the theory stating that personality is inherited by children from their parents. Using this idea, it is considered that the individual has no control over their behaviour, and they are born with certain sets of characteristics. When looking into the nature of personality, there are three elements that contribute to the theory of genetic...

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This paper will serve as a fact sheet and will answer questions pertaining to the gene environment and interaction influence personalities, personality expressions in cultures, twin studies, temperament, and the characteristics of constancy over a period of time. The term personality was originated from a specific place and is exponentially more complex although there are some assumptions when developing theories on personality alone.
Any type of behaviors that are produced by a conscious choice is known as a free will or forces that are deemed as determined by a person’s control. In my opinion, free will expressions are contrary to the power to choose their actions and the extremity of influence in factors of heredity is none other than influenced by environmental factors. The term personality was originated from a specific place and is exponentially more complex although there are some assumptions when developing theories on personality alone. These factors are learned behaviors in which plays a significant role in the predetermined role of personality traits. For instance; if I do not follow good eating techniques I am most likely to contract high blood pressure and diabetes like my grandparents, aunts and uncles or possibly heart disease like my mother. For these reasons it can definitely be assumed that we as human beings...

...Introduction to Personality Paper
Katie McMichael
Axia College of University of Phoenix
November 26, 2012
Introduction
Who am I? What are my good qualities? What are my bad qualities? Why do I behave like that sometimes? Why can’t I stop doing this? How do I see myself? How do others see me? How did my personality come to be what it is today? How has it changed?
When thinking about our personality, these are questions that we ask ourselves. The only way to answer these questions is to observe ourselves and analyze what we found as a result of this research. There are several theories of personality that were introduced in order to do just that. The purpose of this paper is to further understand personality and it’s concepts by defining personality, Examining theoretical approaches in studying personality, and Analyzing factors that may influence an individual’s personality development.
Defining Personality
Since so many theories of personality exist, there is no single definition. The most widely accepted of personality is “a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior.” (Feist &amp; Feist, 2009) as you can see from the definition, each personality is different from each other. Also, from the definition you can...

...Everyone has their own way of adjusting and adapting to new situations, their own way of communicating to one another, and their own way of expressing their feelings. All of these attributes and more add up to create one’s personality. According to ManageTrainLearn.com, "Personality is the mixture of relatively permanent personal characteristics in the way a person constructs the world, acts in it and reacts to it." By taking a simple test you will be able to figure out where you fall on the personality spectrum whether you are an extrovert or introvert, sensitive or intuitive, whether you choose feeling over thinking, or if you are a judger or perceiver.
After taking the Myers Briggs Personality test, I became more aware of my personality and what career path would be most suitable for me. I am an ENFJ, which stands for; extrovert, intuitive, feeling, and judging. Overall, I am very tuned into the feelings of others, responsible and tend to be a leader. Loyal, responsive, and sympathetic are some of the other traits that I possess. When I first read through the description on both the handout in class and further online on kiersey.com, I could not believe how accurate it was. One of the most accurate reflections of my personality was on personalitydesk.com where they described ENFJ’s as “quick to devote themselves entirely to helping a friend, and are hurt deeply when the sentiment is...

...My personality and learning style
Even though personality types are usually referred to by their dominant traits, it is important to bear in mind that these categories simply reflect a personal preference or the condition of being predisposed, not a categorical absolute. People may be referred to as “Extroverts” or “Introverts”, but in truth, we are all a little bit of both, and have the potential to take on different types of personalities at different times. Our personalities are, in real life, infinitely variable. In my personality test I got 60% of extroverted and 40% of introverted which I would believe because extroverted do sound more like me, the word describe extroverted are mostly the words are used to describe me which are talkative social butterfly (no one have ever called me that),fun, assertive, outgoing, confident, expressive, and gregarious .
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...Theory of personality development
Introduction:
Personality refers to the unique and distinctive characteristics which differentiate one person from another. There is presently, no generally agreed upon definition of personality, nevertheless, most people who have written on the subject view personality as an individual difference concept and a lifelong development process; Larry A. Hjelle and Daniel Ziegler J. C. (personality theories, third edition) defines personality as the superficial social image that an individual adopts in playing life roles; while Gorden Allport defined personality as the nature of the persons interactions with the world. Personality is determined by these factors;
• Home
• Cultural factor
• School
• Love and independence
• Crisis in the individuals life
HOME
The influence resulting from membership in a specific family setting has great impact on the personality development of the individual, of particular importance is the parental behavior used to socialize the child with regards to values, benefits, goals etc. Parents and close relatives serve as role models. They, through their actions subtly communicate with their children, style of behavior that will affect the children for the...

...PERSONALITIES
12/2/2013
Behishta Hamid
Words: 668
Abstract
In this study I want to have a peek on the psychology of personality a wide-ranging topic which many researchers have had explorations, personality is the vibrant union of a person’s psychological and physical systems that expresses that person’s actions, thoughts and feelings.
One of the earliest applications of quality based personality assessment was the prediction of academic performance, researches by Webb and others Flemming,1932) found that personality measures were correlated with academic performance but, unfortunately early research was harassed by inconsistent research findings and methodological problems. Researches on personality and work performance also found variable results and these variables led to conclusion that general dimensions of personality were largely unrelated to work performance, but these researches led to the advent of meta-analytical techniques, the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality which is made up of the five dimensions (agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion and openness) which have been mostly important in this regard because it describes most of the variance in personality description in simple dimensions.
Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………2...

...﻿The psychology definition of introversion is a personality type where a person tends to be more inward turning and focuses more on internal thought, feelings, and moods rather than external stimulation. (Kendra Cherry, 2014) Introversion as a personality is most associated with people who prefer alone time over hang out with large groups of people. On the other end of the spectrum are extraverts. Extraverts are people who are very outward with their emotions and essentially the opposite of an introvert. Extraverts outnumber introverts three to one and an introverted personality is often viewed as a defect. Nothing could be farther from the truth. As an introvert I used to think there was something wrong with me because I didn’t have many friends and wasn’t popular, but as I went through high school I realized that if I was happy with myself that no one else mattered. Unlike extroverts who get a charge from social interaction, introverted people most of the time finds socializing in large groups exhausting but revel in meaningful one on one conversations and deep friendships. Introverted people have fewer friends but the friends they do have they keep very close. Introverts are considered very thoughtful people and think through everything they say. Modern theorists who study personality types are trying to confirm that personality traits, such as introversion are hereditary. Personally I feel the same....

...development of personality.
Ans.
What is Personality?
Personality can be defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations.
Some say that personality is inherited or hereditary. Some raised the idea that it is environment that shapes one’s personality.
Both are correct, many studies have shown that both heredity and environment are responsible in shaping an individual’s personality. Heredity is one of the major factors in the development of our personality. Hereditary factors were passed by our parents and ancestors to us. The individual’s talent and some other traits are just few examples of these traits. The environment is another factor in personality development. These include the place we live and the people around us. Our experiences in our day to day life, as well as the people whom we associated with such as our family, friends, people in the school, in the church and the community as a whole, all influences our personality.
Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories suggest that personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the environment. Behavioral theorists include B. F. Skinner and Albert Bandura.
Biological and Evolutionary Approaches to Personality...